Briefs: Psychology Today

The words "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder" may conjure images of a distracted, overly energetic little boy, but such preconceptions are often mistaken and can seriously mislead.

Two recent papers in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology suggest that clinicians sometimes don't recognize the symptoms of ADHD when they show up in girls and adolescents. A boy is twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as a girl with the same symptoms, even if he doesn't fit all the diagnostic criteria. While there is a true gender disparity in the occurrence of ADHD, it is exaggerated by practitioners, says Stephen Hinshaw, a psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley.

Diagnosing ADHD in adolescents is also tricky, since teenagers with the disorder are impulsive, inattentive, and disorganized--but not necessarily hyperactive, explains Margaret Sibley, a psychologist at Florida International University. Different symptoms do not mean fewer problems. A 16-year-old girl who runs stop signs and can never find her homework might not be a rebel--she could just have ADHD.

Stimulant drugs, behavior therapy, and a combination of the two can all be effective in treating ADHD, but behavior therapy is crucial for long-term success. Three primary stakeholders need to be on board:

Families: Parents create structure by ignoring minor annoyances like fidgeting and encouraging good behavior through point systems and contracts ("you finish your homework, I'll leave you alone to watch TV").

Schools: Clinicians work with teachers to inculcate behaviors to which ADHD students aspire (e.g., staying in their seats). Games that involve the whole class--whichever side of the room is the best-behaved wins--take the focus off a single problem child.

Patients: Kids often show major improvement in behavior after residential summer programs that simulate school and social settings but enforce a rigid point system that rewards following directions and staying on task.

WHERE DID I PUT MY KEYS? TIPS FOR MORE FRUITFUL FINDING

By Mary Diduch

Why is it so hard to locate something we've misplaced? A study from the University of Waterloo finds that when we're rushing, we often see what we're looking for, pick it up, and then toss it aside without realizing it. Our perceptual attention cannot work as quickly as our hands do when digging through a purse or flipping through a stack of papers.

"Identification and movement are not coordinated," explains cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Smilek. Here are three ways to force your perceptual and motor systems to get in sync so you can improve your performance when tracking something down:

2. Trust your gut. In the study, participants naturally slowed down when they selected the sought-after item--right before putting it aside. "There seems to be some unconscious recognition that they missed the target," says Smilek. So if you just know your checkbook is in your desk, it's probably worth taking a second peek.

3. Use all your senses. Pay attention to smells, textures, and sounds "to help tease objects apart," suggests Solman. Don't rely only on your eyes. Hearing the jingle of keys or feeling the cold exterior of a smartphone can be just the jolt you need to realize what you're looking at.

SLEEPLESS NO MORE

By Alice Oglethorpe

If your nights are spent counting sheep instead of getting sleep, a new treatment could teach you to rest easy. Insomniacs are unfamiliar with the sensation of falling asleep quickly, but a recent study suggests that inducing sleep deprivation can help them learn to do it.

Leon Lack, head of the Sleep Laboratory at Australia's Flinders University, worked with colleagues to improve the condition of 79 insomniacs in one 25-hour session. At the beginning of each half-hour, the researchers let participants fall asleep--they'd been kept up the previous night, so they were exhausted--but woke them after only three minutes and then kept them up until the next half-hour began. The sleep-wake cycle was repeated for 25 hours, and then the volunteers were sent home.

Within a week, participants were falling asleep faster, and the benefits were still measurable six months later. "These people had significant insomnia for years, and in just one day they were able to greatly improve the quantity and quality of their sleep," says Arthur Spielman, a sleep specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Why was the therapy so effective? It trains insomniacs to associate the act of going to bed with the feeling of quickly nodding off. "Over the course of 25 hours, someone experiences that process dozens of times, helping them keep that association once they return home," Lack explains.

There are no do-it-yourself versions of this therapy available now. But the Flinders sleep lab is already exploring the possibility of creating portable sleep monitors with alarm signals that could translate the 25-hour procedure to a home environment.